Apparatus for pressing treatment of shoe uppers

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for pressing treatment of a shoe upper mounted on a last, which comprises a housing partly open on the service side and covered with a perforated sheet as well as closed all round and heat-protected on both sides. A movable shoe last includes a drive-and-control-device. A pressing cushion includes drive- and controlmembers, liftable from and lowerable to the shoe last. The shoe last and the pressing cushion are disposed in the housing. A cover plate has an insert opening corresponding with the configuration of the shoe last seen in vertical direction covering the pressing cushion within the range of its rearward end face. An insert device operates in a horizontal plane transmitting the shoe last from a ready position in front of the housing into a working position below the pressing cushion inside of the housing and reversing the same. Electric-pneumatic controls are provided which self-control the lifting movement of the pressing cushion; the driving movement of the insert device and the engagement of the pressing cushion in a timely dependent manner.

United States Patent [191 Dreibholz 1 June 5, 1973' [54] APPARATUS FORPRESSING Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson TREATMENT OF SHOE UPPERSAttorney-Ernest G. Montague [75] Inventor: Egon Dreibholz, 56Wuppertal-Bar- [57] ABSTRACT men, Germany An apparatus for pressingtreatment of a shoe upper [73] Asslgnee FlrmaGFl-obana 56 wuppertaLBaFmounted on a last, which comprises a housing partly ermany open on theservice side and covered with a per- [22] Filed: forated sheet as wellas closed all round and heat-pro- Sept. 9, 1971 Appl. No.: 179,038

tected on both sides. A movable shoe last includes adrive-and-control-device. A pressing cushion includes driveandcontrolmembers, liftable from and lowerable to the shoe last. The shoelast and the pressing cushion are disposed in the housing. A cover platehas an insert opening corresponding with the configuration of the shoelast seen in vertical direction covering the pressing cushion within therange of its rearward end face. An insert device operates in ahorizontal plane transmitting the shoe last from a ready position infront of the housing into a working position below the pressing cushioninside of the housing and reversing the same. Electric-pneumaticcontrols are provided which self-control the lifting movement of thepressing cushion; the driving movement of the insert device and theengagement of the pressing cushion in a timely dependent manner.

4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEUJUH 5mm 3,736,611

sum 1. BF 4 V INVEN'I'ORZ PATENTEUJUH 5 I975 SHEEI 2 OF 4 INVEN'I'OR:

PATENTEDJUH 51975 SHEET 3 OF 4 Fig.4

INVENTOR:

PATENTEU JUH 51975 SHEET U BF 4 INVENTORI APPARATUS FOR PRESSINGTREATMENT OF SHOE UPPERS The present invention relates to an apparatusfor pressing treatment of shoe uppers, in general, and to a pressingcushion, which is lowerable thereupon and capable of being subjected toa pressure medium, in particular.

An apparatus of the above describedtype, in which a shoe last in animmovable arrangement cooperates with a liftable and lowering pressingcushion disposed thereabove with pneumatic engagement. With thisapparatus, the pressing process of and uppers can be simplified,compared with the previous manual work, in which the two parts, to whichglue means has been applied, are pressed against each other manually,however, it is of a disadvantage, for example, that the shoe last isdisposed immovable below the pressing cushion, so that the pressingcushion has to perform an appreciable lift in a vertical plane, in orderthat somehow handily the application of shoe uppers to the last can takeplace, whereby-time losses are created.

Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide anapparatus of the type described above which is improved.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatusfor pressing treatment of shoe uppers, wherein the liftable andlowerable pressing cushion together with its driving and controlelements as well as the driving and control-means of a displaceable shoelast are disposed within a housing, which is partly open towards theserving side and covered with a perforation sheet, closed all around andat least on both sides protected against heat rays, so that on the otherhand the pressing cushion is covered within the range of its rearwardend face by a cover plate leaving an inserting opening merelycorresponding with the configuration of the last seen in verticaldirection, that furthermore, the shoe last is provided on an insertdevice operating in a horizontal plane for the transformation from aready position in front of the housing into a working position below thepressing cushion in the housing and to be reversed and, that finally thelifting movement of the pressing cushion, the driving movement of theinsert device and the engagement of the pressing cushion are controlledin a timely depending manner electronical1y-pheumatically selfobserving.

A first advantage of the present invention can be seen at first. in theproposed closed housing structure, in which all required elements areprovided in a joint housing. A second advantage resides also in the heatray protected arrangement of the housing, so that the pressing cushion,on the one hand, as well as a shoe last, on the other hand, areprotectively received relative to heat rays. This is of importance somuch more, as due to the pretreatment of the shoe shaft in addition tosuch pressing treatment apparatus, a thermally working activating devicemust be provided for the preparation of the glue on the wigan and theuppers.

The heat reflecting from the activating device can thus not influencethe pressing apparatus. Furthermore, in the housing according to thepresent invention also a continuous air circulation inside is providedfor, which prevails between the double arrangement of the side wallparts of the housing, so that a continuous natural cooling is present.

A third advantage of the present invention resides also in the rearcovering of a pneumatically applicable pressing cushion with a coveringplate, which has an insert opening corresponding with the configurationof the shoe last in height direction. This covering plate offers theadvantage that during the working phase, that means, during theapplication of the pressing cushion the elastic cushion working materialis retained by the covering plate, to squeeze out rearwardly passed theshoe last. By this arrangement, the entire pressure force during theshoe last is concentrated exclusively onto the shoe last. Furthermore,also by the all around support of the pressing cushion the danger isremoved, that the cushion bursts during the application. One can operateeven with highest pressures.

Furthermore, a fourth advantage is seen in the fact that the shoe lastis provided on an insert device movable in a horizontal plane, so thatthereby the application of the shoe last and the removal again of thepressed shoe upper in front of the device and not until now, inside ofthe device must be performed inside of the device under difficultpresumptions below the pressing cushion. Furthermore, the horizontalremovability of the shoe last has the advantage that the pressingcushion itself has to perform merely a small lift in vertical direction,in order to be able to lift the treated shoe upper from the last. Bythis arrangement idling time periods, which were unavoidable until now,are eliminated.

Last but not least, the apparatus designed in accordance with thepresent invention is further characterized by the fact, that allmovements of the elements required for the pressing treatment of theshoe upper are performed by a self observing electronicallypneumaticallyoperating control device depending relative to each other. Bythisarrangement a handling of this new apparatus is simple, because merely asafetyand two hand switchings at the front side of the apparatus arerequired by the operating person, whereby then the process runsautomatically.

A heat ray protected housing design is brought about in a practicalrealization of the subject matter of the present invention suitablysuch, that at least the side wall parts of the housing are formed as adouble arrangement with a formation of ventilation shaftsextending atleast from the housing bottom ever part of i the height of the housing.i

The arrangement can be chosen thereby such, that the ventilation shaftsare formed towards the inside of the housing by blend sheets disposedlaterally next to the pressing cushion, which extends over the entirecushion height, project thereby to nearly the housing bottom with aremaining air circulation slot and terminate with some distance with aremaining large air escape remote from the housing cover.

An insert device for the shoe last can be designed in the frame work ofthe present invention such, that it is received on a rail guided slidehaving its own pressure means drive.

In summary, it has been achieved with the present invention, to providean apparatus for the pressing treatment of shoe uppers, which shoeshafts have a series of appreciable advantages, which render theapparatus of the present invention to a highly usable solution for thepractice with a high use value. The apparatus designed in accordancewith the present invention is characterized not only by an absolutelycompact and enclosed building structure of the function elements, ratheroffers also to the operator the necessary security and is easily andsimply to be operated or served. Also seen from the effect, it fulfillsall requirements since a most meticulous pressing process can beperformed.

With these and other. objects in view which will become apparent in thefollowing detailed description, the present invention, which is shown byexample only, will be clearly understood inconnection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective front view of the apparatus designed inaccordance with the present invention with the shoe last in the readyposition in front of the housmg;

FIG. 2 is a perspective side view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 withthe shoe last in the working position below the pressing cushion;

FIG.'3 is a perspective side view of the pressing cushion and of theshoe last without the remaining elements;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1; and FIG. 5is a side elevation with removed lateral cover, whereby merely theessential parts for the present apparatus are indicated.

Referring now to the drawings, the apparatus comprises a substantiallyrectangular housing 10, which is covered at the upper end by aperforated sheet 11, which has at the front side an opening 12 andotherwise is desinged all around in a closed structure. This housing isdesigned within the range of its side wall part 10a as a doublearrangement, blend-sheets 13 being provided at a distance to the sidewall parts 100 inside of the housing, which sheets 13 leave between thelatter and the outer side wall parts 10a air ventilation shafts 14.These sheets 13 extend nearly to the bottom 10b of the housing, yetleave an air entrance passage 15 and are guided in vertical direction inthe direction towards the cover 11 of the housing, however, only so far,that between the cover and the upper edge of the sheets an air escapeopening 16 each remains.

Inside of the housing is furthermore provided a pressing cushion 17,which can be engaged by a pressure medium, which cushion l7 sitsadjustable as to its height at the end of a piston rod 18 of a pressuremedium unit 19 and is arranged settable as to its length on a carrierplate 20.

In a plane below the pressing cushion 17 is provided a shoe-last 21,which is movably received on an pneumatically controlled insert device22 in a horizontal plane. This insert device 22 is guided on a rail 23.

The shoe uppers 24 emerge from an activating device (notshown), and areapplied to the shoe last 21 in its ready position, in front of thehousing 10 in a manner shown in FIG. 1. The treatment phase is releasedsuch that the operator operates simultaneously two switches 25, so thatthe shoe last 21 is transmitted into the working position, shown in FIG.2. Simultaneously by an electronic control the pressing cushion 17 islowered and engaged. A rear cover plate 26 on the pressing cushion 17prevents during the application of the pressing cushion 17 which issurrounded by a supporting member, that the elastic cushion workingmaterial is squeezed out rearwardly.

After a preselectable treatment duration, the pressing cushion 17 isreleased, the shoe last 21 is transmitted again'into the position shownin FIG. 1 and can be 4 applied again. The total treatment processincluding the treatment duration is controlled electronically selfobserving.

In order that the pressing cushion 17 is not influenced from the outsideby .heat rays of the activating device disposed next to the apparatus(not shown) by the natural air circulation, in particular within therange of the side wall parts 100, a type of cooling takes place in theshafts 14. The air can enter from the open side into the housing,passing through the slot 15, rising then in the shaft 14 and can escapeat 16 above the pressing cushion through the perforated sheets and thecover of the apparatus.

It is to be understood, not last by itself, that the shown and describedembodiment is to be seen as one possible example for the practicalrealization 'of the present invention, that, however, it should not belimited thereto, rather within the frame work of the present inventionstill some other embodiments are possible preferably concerning thestructural design of the housing, as well as the control of thetreatment elements, which, however, as much as a natural self-airing ofthe housing on the one hand, as well as a self-watching working cycle onthe other hand can be obtained, which is part of the present invention.

While I have disclosed one embodiment of the present invention, it is tobe understood that this embodiment is shown by example only and not in alimiting sense.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for pressing treatment of a shoe upper mounted on alast, comprising a housing partly openon the service side and coveredwith a perforated sheet, as well as closed all around and heat-protectedon both sides,

a movable shoe last including drive-and controlmeans, I

a pressing cushion including drive-and controlmembers, liftable from andlowerable to said shoe last,

said shoe last and said pressing cushion being disposed in said housing,

a cover plate having an insert opening corresponding with theconfiguration of said shoe last seen in vertical direction covering saidpressing cushion within the range of its rearward end face,

an insert device operating in a horizontal plane transmitting said shoelast from a ready position in front of said housing into a workingposition below said pressing cushion inside of said housing andreversing the same, and

electronic-pneumatic control means self-controlling the lifting movementof said pressing cushion, the driving movement of said insert device andthe engagement of said pressing cushion in timelydependent manner.

2. The apparatus, as set forth in claim 1 wherein said housing includeslateral wall parts extending at least spaced apart from the bottom ofsaid housing up to a part of the height of said housing to defineventilation shafts in a double wall arrangement.

3. The apparatus, as set forth in claim '2, wherein said ventilationshafts include sheets disposed laterally adjacent said pressing-cushionand extending over the entire height of said cushion close to the bottomof said housing, defining an air circulation 3,736,611 6 slot andterminating at a distance from the top of a slide having its ownpressure means drive. a rail the housing for a larger air escape.guiding said slide, and the latter supporting said 4. The apparatus, asset forth in claim 1, which inshoe last. cludes

1. An apparatus for pressing treatment of a shoe upper mounted on a last, comprising a housing partly open on the service side and covered with a perforated sheet, as well as closed all around and heatprotected on both sides, a movable shoe last including drive-and control-means, a pressing cushion including drive-and control-members, liftable from and lowerable to said shoe last, said shoe last and said pressing cushion being disposed in said housing, a cover plate having an insert opening corresponding with the configuration of said shoe last seen in vertical direction covering said pressing cushion within the range of its rearward end face, an insert device operating in a horizontal plane transmitting said shoe last from a ready position in front of said housing into a working position below said pressing cushion inside of said housing and reversing the same, and electronic-pneumatic control means self-controlling the lifting movement of said pressing cushion, the driving movement of said insert device and the engagement of said pressing cushion in timely-dependent manner.
 2. The apparatus, as set forth in claim 1 wherein said housing includes lateral wall parts extending at least spaced apart from the bottom of said housing up to a part of the height of said housing to define ventilation shafts in a double wall arrangement.
 3. The apparatus, as set forth in claim 2, wherein said ventilation shafts include sheets disposed laterally adjacent said pressing-cushion and extending over the entire height of said cushion close to the bottom of said housing, defining an air circulation slot and terminating at a distance from the top of the housing for a larger air escape.
 4. The apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, which includes a slide having its own pressure means drive. a rail guiding said slide, and the latter supporting said shoe last. 